Apparatus for drilling wells



July 29,l 1952 Fl'iled May 13, 1946 s. w. COLLINS 2,605,083

APPARATUS FORDRILLING WELLS 5 sheets-'sheet 1 AH 513.3. 3 4 5 A l 36 j.;

62 55* az 4 am m W nl 48 @5 :gung/"S M e7 .Nf

a Si] $27 l" ,Ag y \4 sa' y 1 I t BY Samuel W. Col/ins l g M01/*WMM 1Arrange-s,

A mi

July 1952 I s. wjcoLLlNs l '2,605,083 u APPARATUS FOR DRLLING WELLSFiled May l5,v 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. amue/ W Co//f/.

Patented .ul'y 29, 1,952-

UNITED@ PAT-ENT APPRATUSCFoR DRIILEINGWE samuetwebnins, 'rulsnoklavApplication-May v13; 1946, serial No: 669,309#

aolaimsi- (01.255-24-1; l

This invention .relatesvto apparatus fordrilling:

Wells and particular-ly# drilling: in'. andi deepenin'gf Wells inproducing"formationsLand-:fon cleaning@ out-existing wells;-

The presentstandard processofr'rotary dri-llirre'i involveshigh-lpressure circulation of` drillingzfluid:

ofi the borehole toprevent eavngs-:and inltra+ tionzof fluids 4frompermeablei'formations, Sueli higlr pressurelzV circulationr isdesirableiand: prac; tical Jforf drilling deepzwellsf-upbto athe vproducing:

formation, butiwhen; high ;circulatiornpressurefis: v usedv .indrillingtl'i e1 producing for-mation; theshighr pressureorcesf the.drilling' fluiminto- 'th'epro-.A

(inningformatiorrand; shutss, outl inflow off. the formationx fluids...'llxus'i desirable; -loW pressureproducing-...formationsfareaptztogbapassed; or) the.

ultimate production' res'trictedn byA blockage ofipermeationsazimthe:.formationfbyf the'smudxladen drilling. fluid.'4'Ifo' avoid this;diiieulty;v it isaa-,l

practio'ertoz'suspendrotaryydrilling :When-the p ro-l ducirrg formationis. reached? andqto proceed withcable;toolsybutrthisz involves; setting.yu1gfof come plet'elyf; diierent.: drilling equipment" andresultsAinxlosstofsrtime; greateriinvestment in: equip mentf 25 .,of theg'abovesurface portion ofr heappa andi, is noti` the i- GOrreotfsOIu'tiQn-t to"the drilling;- Y

problerrr.4

Various/low pressure.: methodsahaver-been con-` ing, operationando-remove the cuttings bymeans.

of afbailerf. Other.wse; the. aecumulated'cuttings.

interferefwith. cutting-action of` thebiti.

It isltheprinclpal-.obj eet lofethepresentdrivenbyf-Drovidingeforfremoval ofthe Vcuttings ,.simullf taneouslynwitndrilling-jan@- maintain lowibottom hole-, circulation.pressure which-'isinsufcient to stop in ow of formationfiuidsf It vl@ lslalso .tanrobieetfoff fthe .invention itozmaintainiA any; predetermined bottom..hole.V pressure f: relativeatoftheformation@ pressure y.'lfor-fexample,v

the'bottomzhole:pressure'maybe hiel-ien or.Y lower than-.the formationpressure :While assuringl :posia A tive removaltloi-the cuttingsi-Imcarrying out thefinventiong.,

an:improvedzdrillingapparatus illuetraftediin ithefaccompanyingdrawingsimherein: .1

Figi." :11 is Ja; vertical :section zthroughzawellvsdrilled from theearths surface down to a produeingggK-The mud pump isaesubstantiallyheavnandex formation' and illustrating: my;Yimproveizlz:appa-fi4 ratus=for1maintaining'- 10W:c bottom .holepressures andl'for removing the' lcuttings whilefthe bitproi 1gressesthroughlthefproduoingffo1'nation;.. Figi. 2. is;A an:A enlargedVertical section through? thee lower'A end offthea. drillpipa..partioularlygillusw. trating .f the f drill bit A and pump.; fori`maintainingA the desired pressurearid removal-of thercutting-s;

Whileitghe bitis rotated.4 I5

`FigiV 3f istat. detail vertcalsection illustragtingi the? method: of'voc'inp'lngy and.: uncoupling sucker:ro'ds'sfrom the'roclreoiprofoatingrmoto v Fie".v 4 is'. an.enlarged;vertical@seetionythroug the-r above:Asurface portionf of: thedril1ing a-p.f

Figi; 51. isf afhO ofrFigal'. .Y w. Fie. Gris-ayhorizontal-Sectionfthroweh:themme.; on-.thecline GL-f-B'O Fig-2 4f 1 ly' Fig; y' 7- isf horizontal section;y through? the,l launderr" which.receives);thel dril-lingf. flu-id chargedlfrom theA drillpipLeythefseetionbifn taken on-fthelineel-T-"of-Fg-f4f v Fig.. 8.is anelevation off-amodiiedemb rizontafh sectionf. on thee line.t

lteferrin-gA more rin detail to the fdr-'rawy gs l ldesignates..adoore.holey that liasbee from. the surface- 2 ythroivighthe lvar fus eartformationsf- 3.. to.: a. producing. formation 4;; f

\ examplefb-y a.standard:rotary1 drillfi'nga u involving the.' use ofahigh pressuredfrilv that is cireulated undern pump pressure? don wardl'yth'roiigh'Y the. drilling string', 5`to b'e., d1 charged; through thebit-'Bandreturnedfupwai c above theirproducngffrmatior andls'a-'asin fhead l -on ftheuppen endlloavirigliatealoiil 'v tional-si j The--circulatinge pump'. for :the Y. drilling known lasA a =mudpump;v isnot illustratedin .the drawings? but is-v located-atithe;r Sudario-andoonneotedwwith theuppwend ofmtlieldil string f througha yswivel f head1i also notV s 'h'o pensive unit requiring substantial motive power toestablish suicient pressure in the well to return the drilling iuid tothe top of the ground through the casing. When the hydrostatic head ofdrilling iiuid returning to the pump acts upon a low pressure formation,it is greatly in excess ofthe pressure tending to icw the formation intothe well'. Consequently, the drilling fluid ows into the permeations ofthe producing formations and shuts 01T flow into the bore hole, therebyreducing the output of the iinished well. Therefore, I have provided alowV bottom hole pressure method of circulating the drilling fluid forremoving the cuttings during progress of the drill.

In continuing the drilling operation, in accordance with the presentinvention, I utilize substantially the same drilling equipment and whichmay include the standard drill pipe above described or tubing used asdrill pipe in which is connected a pump I'I at a point above the bit 6together with a special swivel head assembly I8. The assembly I8includes a motor I9 for actuating a string of sucker rods 23 to operateVthe pump. The swivel head also carries a launder 2l for receivingthe'fluids discharged by the pump and Ywhich flow to a settling tank 22for return to the well if desired.

The pump I7 may be of any standard type such as now used in pumping oilwells and which is designed to operate satisfactorily when handlingabrasive-fluids.' In the illustrated instance, the pumpv includes aworking barrel 23 having threaded upper and lower ends V24 and 25 forconnection with couplings 26 and 2l. The upper coupling 2B carries'internal tool joint threads 28 by which it is threadedly connected withVthe pin 29 of the next upper section of drill pipe. The lower coupling2l connects by similar threads with the lower section of drill pipe 30to carry the pump at a desired height above the drill bit 6, that is, sothat the head of liquid to be maintained in the bore hole will causeflow upwardly through the customary ports 3| of the drill bit andthrough the lower section of the drill pipe into the pump. The coupling21 carries a standing valve 32 having a tapered inlet end 33 engaging ina tapered seat 34 of the coupling. `The inlet port 35 of the standingvalve is encircled by a seat 36 for a valving member 3l that is retainedin position by a cage 3B. The cage 38 has a threaded pin 39 adapted tobe engaged in a threaded socket 40 of the pump piston 4I wherebythestanding valve may be removed upon withdrawal of the piston through thedrill pipe. The piston 4I carries a traveling valve 42 which includes acage 43 connected with the string of sucker rods that extends upwardlythrough the drill pipe to the top of the bore hole. The cagev 43 of thetraveling valve contains a valving meme berV 44y for controlling flowthrough an axial port 45 ofthe piston.

The upper end of the drilling string connects with the kelly 46 thatextends through a drive bushing 41 carried by the turntable. The upperend of the kelly 46 is connected with a discharge head 48 rotatablewithin a central passageway 49 of the launder 2| and which is formed byan, annular wall 50 cooperating with abottom I and an outer wall 52 forproviding an annularl passageway. The head 48 haslateral 'spouts 53discharging into the passageway of the launder. The head 48 is connectedwith the motor' I9 ment 54 of the swivel head I8.

The swivel head I8 includes a bail 55 connected with the hook 55 of thetraveling block I I whereby the entire string of drill pipe is adaptedto be supported within the bore hole as in conventional rotary drillingpractice.

The launder is carried in proper position with respect tothe spouts 53by straps 57 attached at their lower ends to the sides of the launderand at their upper ends to the trunnions 58 which carry the'bail 55 oftheswiveljhead assembly.

The string of sucker rods is also composed of a series of sectionssecured together by threaded pin and box connections 6l! and SI wherebythe sections of rods may be connected and disconnected when running inand pulling drill pipe. The uppermost drill rod is connected by a slideswivel 62 with a reciprocating rod 63 of the motor I9. The slide swivelincludes a head 54 on the upper section of pump rod and which isslidably engaged in a yoke-shaped member 55 fixed to the reciprocatingrod of the motor. The motor I9 may be of any type suitable for rotationwith the drill pipe and capable of reciprocating the pump rods. In theillustrated instance, the motor is of a fluid pressure type, forexample, a compressed air operated motor and includes a cylinder 66having a piston chamber 61 Vof a length to accommodate travel ofa piston53 that is xed to the reciprocatory rod 63. The rod 53 'extends upwardlythrough a head 69 of the piston-chamber and carries a valve actuatingknob 'I0 reciprocable within a valve chamber 1I formed as an uppercontinuation of the cylinder. Slidable in the valve cham-V ber is asleeve-type valve I2 correspondingl inV length to the travel of thepiston and which has l, inwardly extending lugs I3 and 14 at its respective ends to be engaged by the actuating knob I0 to shift the sleeveinto opening and closing relation with respect to ports 'I5 formed inthe upper side walls of the valve chamber and which are connected bychannels 'I6 leading to portsV 'I'I opening into the lower end of thepiston chamber. The cylinder also has exhaust ports 78' located in thewall thereof about the length of piston below the top of the pistonchamber. vThe pressure fluid is supplied from a compressor 'I8 whichconnects with the stationary member I9 of the swivel head by a flexibleconduit 80.

The rotary member 54 is provided withV an axial port 8l that connectsthe stationary member 'I9 with the valve chamber 'II as best shown inFig. 4. The fluid emptying into the launder is discharged through aflexible duct 82 leading Y to the settling tank 22. The settling tank 22is preferably divided by transverse partition 83 dividing the tank intoa settling chamber 84 and a clear fluid chamber 85; however, thepartition terminates short of the level of liquid to be maintained sothat the liquid relieved of solid material such as the cuttings, owsacross the top of the partition into the clear fluid cham'- ber fromwhere it may be discharged through a connection 86 with a discharge duct81 or returned to the bore hole through a discharge duct 88 thatconnects with the casing head I5. Flow throughthe ducts 8l and 88 iiscontrolled by` valves 89 and 90 respectively. The precipitating Y headthrough a duct 94 having a control valve 95 therein. A..

ases-,ose

III` order; to facilitate centering oi' the. discharge' After theborehole has been drilled downito the producing formationin vaccordancewiththezconventional rotaryY drillingl practices, the4 drill.- ing-iscontinued in accordance with the present invention'. The", drill pipeis. withdrawn; andA the" borehole isv pumped out to the level ofliquidfor establishing the desiredbottom; hole; pres,- sure;. The drill` pipe:or. ordinary tubingif. de.-Y siredis run. into the well with thepumpI'Iv con` nectedtherein atla heightv above. the drill bitto maintain, a,predetermined head of fluid in the bottom of thev bore hole when thepump is in' operation as later described. The string of drill pipe; isrun into the bore hole by. inserting sections of pipe in accordance withthe usualpractice until the bit nears the bottom .of thebore hole wherethe pipe is supported ofi bottom by slips 99,Y carried in the turntable.rIfhe` standing valve; may then be connected with the; pump piston. andinserted through the end ofv the drill pipe projecting through theturntable. The

standingvalve and piston are loweredthroughthe` drill `pipe by applying:sections of sucker' rod until thestanding valve reaches its seatin the.bottom of the L nrimp-ba/rrel.A The sucker rods. are then-@rotated inreverse direction relative tothe; couplings. thereof for freeing thepistonfrom the standing valve. The swivel head assembly` carryev ingfthemotor [9, 4laundver4 2l, head 48- and the upperI sucker rod sectionhaving the slide swivel 62. is attachedtothe; hook 56 of theA travelingblock.. lBy reasonnof thevsliding swivel connectionbetween thesuckerrod;section and pump rody` the'sucker rod coupling projects from the lowerend; of the kelly 46; as shownin Figj so. that it may be connectedv tothe upper end of the sucker rodA that, projects, from the drill pipe.The sections may then be readily connected by the ordinary wrenchesllland IIJI applied to the wrench engaging. portions of the sucker rodjoints. 'The Kelly rod by reasonof the sleeve swivel can then be loweredover the sucker rod connection andcoupled with'the drill pipe that isthenbeing carried by the slips in the turntable.- The4 slips 89. arethen removed so; that theKelly. rod may be lowered to engage the drive;

bushing: with its seatv inthe turntable and to lower` thebitintdcontact,with thebottom otthe i borehole.` The pump may then; beoperatedgto maintain the, uidleyelin. the bo'reglioley toJ that requiredA.for eectingthe, desiredv pressure..

It'there is not suiiicientv iiuidf in .the bore;v hole.. to;y .make the;desiredv head otheniluid may`r be.

added through the.. topof.. yth,ewe1l;from the sup.-

tween the drill pipe and'casingv if the well is cased or between thedrill pipe and-wall of the bore holeif'thewell'isnotvcased. The volumeof fluid admitted is regulated by the valve`95 to admit the amount to beused. The drill bit is then placed in operation by rotating theturntable. The pump is simultaneously operated by supplying pressurefluid to the pump motor. When the ports 15 are open pressure fluid flowsthrough thechannels 16 and through the ports 11 to the underside of thepiston 68 to raise the piston upwardly in the cylinder until it passesthe ldrill pipe in the well.

ports'. T8?.` By.' thisl time, the. knob.v 1w is! eng'agedi 1v by: theupper. lug. 'UlV to shift thevalve 'lzupwardely and. close:` the inlet`ports 15', shutting.; offffthe:

supply of pressure fluid to the' piston. Upon re ,lease of pressurethrough the` ports` 18?', the pis:

ton is=^fthen free to v move downwardly inthe:

cylinder under weightv of the rods` until ther knob 1.0. engages the lug'l3-v to shift the sleeve valve for again uncovering.: the-l ports l5`Aso that another charge of pressure iluidis:l admitted under thepistonV to continue reciprocation ot" I iluid isfdrawny from thefborehole through the ports 3ll in the center of the bit and upwardlythroughthe standingvalvewhen the piston" isI moved' upwardly in the'- workingbarrel. ,The

cuttings being made by the bit` are sweptby movement of" the drillingfluid'to the center of' thel bit for flow with theldrillingfluid intothe pump barrel. Thus,Y the cuttings are kept fromv the Wall of the borehole, and there is no possi-Y bility of plastering--thewall of the borehole with v the cuttings. When the pump piston reaches the top ofy itsstrokes and starts downward-ly, the standing valve seats"` andv the'traveling valve opens to allow transfer 'oftrappedfluid- Yand cuttingsto flow through the ypiston tothe upper end of the 4working barrel. Onlthe upstroke of the piston the column of fluid andv cuttingsare liftedin the drillpipe andanotherl charge isjdrawn y in below the piston. Whenthe drillj pipe is lled, the licluid'carryingv the. cuttings.overflows*through the spouts of' the discharge-head. and into;the.launder.` f

Itis thusobvious that as the drillingjprogresses the liquidlevel is,maintainedthrough operation of the pump so as to carry thepredeterminedlow pressure on thev sides of the bore hole. Duringadvancement of theA bit, the Kelly'rod, lowers through the turntableuntil it is necessaryA tov apply another stand` of.' sucker rods anddrillV pipe. This is readily eiTected by. supporting the drill pipey bythe slips,A uncoupling the lower end of the Kelly rod andi raising theKelly rod so that' the upper joint of the sucker rod is exposed' so thatit can be uncoupled upon application of the wrenches. Another stand. ofsucked. rod and drill'pipeA are connectedwith the kelly 4E' and'lreciprocatory rod 63 and the sucker rodsA and' The drill pipe is thenlifted so that the slips may be removedland lowered to again engagethedrive bushing of the Kelly rod into seatedposition in thev turntable forcontinuingA the drilling operation.

In the event that liquid is produced in the formation being drilled, thesupply of added liquid may be regulated` to maintain the desired. headof liquidland, pressure on the walls of the bore hole. If oil isproduced, theoil is settled outinthe tank 22 and'is discharged-from..the tank through the duct 8l to storage tanks 'shown in Fig. 1.while thecuttingsand other materials are discharged through the duct BI. If theoil producedis not suicientto car-ry the cuttings. to

the pump, additional liquid separated in the tank' 84 may be used to addto the fluid in the well by gravity flow upon opening of the valve 9U.

If oil is produced from the formation in sufficient quantity to carrythe cuttings, the pumping action may actually lower the fluid level inthe well so that there is less back pressure on the formation than theformation rock pressure. This will allow for free flow into the borehole lated to suit conditions while drilling proceeds. I'I creates asuctionA The circulating pump at the axis of rotation, thus sucking thecuttings into the drill pipe and away from the outside of the drill bitand walls ofthe producing formalev Y tion to avoid plastering of thewalls and towkeepl thecuttings clear of the cutting teeth of the bit, Incase ythe bit should stick, the standing, valve can be pulled Yand backflow of uidrin the drill pipe will clean-the bit.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Fig.

s, the Kelly rod and drilling stringl are supported by hydraulic jacks|92 for controlling weight on the bit when the drilling pipe is rotated.The

drill pipe is raised and lowered by a traveling block |03 having a hool;|94 adapted to be connected with the bail |705 of a swivel head |95, thetraveling block being carried by a cable |01 operating over a crownpulley |08 and wound upon the drum of a drawworks |09.

The string o1" sucker rods is reciprocated simultaneously with operationof the drill pipe by an apparatus H0 equivalent toV a spudding deviceand which includes a jackpost mounting a walking beam l l2 and whichcarries on one Vend a pulley I I3 engaging a cable l. The cable H4 iswound on a drum H5 andl extends over a crown pulley H on the derrickv tobe connectedxby a swivel connection HT with the string yof sucker rodsH8. The suckerrods H8 n extend through a suitable packing box H9 on aduct |20 into the settling tank |2l'similar to' .the settling tankpreviously described. The walking beam l|2 is actuated by a crank andpitman mechanism |22 so thatwhen the'brake is applied to, the'drum H5and the walking beam Vset in motion, the rocking action of the walkingbeam eiects reciprocation of the pump rods to actuate the pump While thedrilling is in progress. SuclzerrodsV may be lowered' by releasing thebrake drum as drilling progresses. Also, more sucker rods can be addedas they are needed when drill pipe 4is lowered. t Y

It isralso Yobvious that the above described method of drilling can beused to start and complete a wellV if low presure fluid circulation isdesired. Any type ofbit may be used such as Y pivotally a core bit, astandard drill bit, reamer, or combination. Thepresent method also hasthe advantage that a production test can be made at l.

any stage of drilling in, by stopping the rotation of the drill andcontinuing operation of the pump.

From the foregoing it is obvious that I have It isalso obvious thattheow is toward the,

center of the bitto carry .the cuttings away from the vwall ,of theborehole and eliminate plastering of the cuttingsv overthe permeableformation being drilled.

What I, claim and desire to secure by iLetters Patent ls: Y

l. An apparatus for drilling bore holes into earthY formations`including a drill pipe, a pump connected with the drillpipaa drill bitconnected with the drill pipe andhaving a ow channel connected withAthe` pump, means including a swivel'head for supportingthe drill pipe,sucker rods,l connected with the pump and extending upwardly through thedrill pipe, sucker rod. actuating means carried by the swivel head andhaving connection with the sucker rods, a launder surroundingY the upperend ofV the drill pipe and. carriedbyr theswivel head for receivingdrilling uid lifted by the pump through the drill pipe, duct meansconnecting with the launder for discharging the liquid from the launder,a settling vessel connected with the duct means, duct means connectingthe settling Vessel with the upper end of the bore hole for emptyingliquid into the bore hole, and means in said duct means for regulatingthe amount of liquid returned to the bore hole.

a Kelly rod connected with the upper end of the drill pipe, a dischargehead connected with the upper end of the Kelly rod, sucker rodsconnected with the pump and extending upwardly through l' the drillpipe, sucker rod actuating means havingconnection with the dischargehead, a swivelv head 1 connected with the sucker rod actuating means,

a launder surrounding the upper end of the drill Y Vpipe and carried bythe swivel head for receiving drilling fluid being lifted by the pump,ductmeans connected with the launder for discharging liquid from thelaunder, and a sliding swivel connection between the sucker rods and thesucker rod actuating means.

l SAMUEL W. COLLINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file Yofthis patent: j

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date f 682,939 Ivens Sept 17, 19011,247,092 Dodds NOV. 20, 1917 1,348,815 Lewis Aug. 3, 1920 1,380,203Glick May 31, 1921 1,621,569 Wellensek Mar. 22, 1927 1,772,369 She1d0n'Aug. 5, 1930 1,867,833 Hill July 19, 1932v 1,909,659 Clapp May 16, 19332,266,344 Staerker Dec. 16, 1941 2,363,142` Reed NOV. 21, 19441- FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 417,816 Great Britain oct. 12, 19344

